Higher operating temperatures for gas turbine engines are continuously sought in order to increase efficiency. However, as operating temperatures increase, the high temperature durability of the components within the engine must correspondingly increase.
Significant advances in high temperature capabilities have been achieved through the formulation of nickel- and cobalt-based superalloys. For example, some gas turbine engine components may be made of high strength directionally solidified or single crystal nickel-based superalloys. These components are cast with specific external features to do useful work with the core engine flow and contain internal cooling details and through-holes to provide external film cooling to reduce airfoil temperatures. Nonetheless, when exposed to the demanding conditions of gas turbine engine operation, particularly in the turbine section, such alloys alone may be susceptible to damage by oxidation and corrosion attack and may not retain adequate mechanical properties. Thus, these components often are protected by an environmental coating or bond coat and a top thermal insulating coating often collectively referred to as a thermal barrier coating (TBC) system.
Diffusion coatings, such as aluminides and platinum aluminides applied by chemical vapor deposition processes, and overlay coatings such as MCrAlY alloys, where M is iron, cobalt and/or nickel, have been employed as environmental coatings for gas turbine engine components.
Ceramic materials, such as zirconia (ZrO2) partially or fully stabilized by yttria (Y2O3), magnesia (MgO) or other oxides, are widely used as the topcoat of TBC systems. The ceramic layer is typically deposited by air plasma spraying (APS) or a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique. TBC employed in the highest temperature regions of gas turbine engines is typically deposited by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) techniques.
To be effective, the TBC topcoat must have low thermal conductivity, strongly adhere to the article and remain adherent throughout many heating and cooling cycles. The latter requirement is particularly demanding due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion between thermal barrier coating materials and superalloys typically used to form turbine engine components. TBC topcoat materials capable of satisfying the above requirements have generally required a bond coat, such as one or both of the above-noted diffusion aluminide and MCrAlY coatings. The aluminum content of a bond coat formed from these materials provides for the slow growth of a strong adherent continuous alumina layer (alumina scale) at elevated temperatures. This thermally grown oxide protects the bond coat from oxidation and hot corrosion, and chemically bonds the ceramic layer to the bond coat.
Though significant advances have been made with coating materials and processes for producing both the environmentally-resistant bond coat and the thermal insulating ceramic layer, there is the inevitable requirement to remove and replace the environmental coating and ceramic top layer under certain circumstances. For instance, removal may be necessitated by erosion or impact damage to the ceramic layer during engine operation, or by a requirement to repair certain features such as the tip length of a turbine blade. During engine operation, the components may experience loss of critical dimension due to squealer tip loss, TBC spallation and oxidation/corrosion degradation. The high temperature operation also may lead to growth of the environmental coatings.
Current state-of-the art repair methods often result in removal of the entire TBC system, i.e., both the ceramic layer and bond coat. One such method is to use abrasives in procedures such as grit blasting, vapor honing and glass bead peening, each of which is a slow, labor-intensive process that erodes the ceramic layer and bond coat, as well as the substrate surface beneath the coating. The ceramic layer and metallic bond coat also may be removed by a stripping process in which, for example, the part is soaked in a solution containing KOH to remove the ceramic layer and also soaked in acidic solutions, such as phosphoric/nitric solutions, to remove the metallic bond coat. Although stripping is effective, this process also may remove a portion of the base substrate thereby thinning the exterior wall of the part.
When components such as high pressure turbine blades are removed for a full repair, the ceramic and diffusion coatings may be removed from the external locations by stripping processes. The tip may then be restored, if needed, by weld build up followed by other shaping processes. The diffusion coatings and ceramic layer are then reapplied to the blades in the same thickness as if applied to a new component. However, airfoil and environmental coating dimensions/stability are particularly important for efficient engine operation and the ability for multiple repairs of the components. When design is limited to particular minimum airfoil dimensions, multiple repairs of such components may not be possible.